Kevin Gopal (left) with the rest of the editorial team: deputy editor Antonia Charlesworth, producer Christian Lisseman and designer Mark Wheeler. Credit: Rebecca Lupton

On the occasion of Big Issue North’s final edition as an independent magazine, its editor Kevin Gopal – in the role for 16 years – talks about some of the defining moments for him and his editorial team at the magazine.

Big Issue North editor Kevin Gopal: “I’ve been editor through the financial crash, austerity and now the cost of living crisis. What does marginalisation mean when nearly everyone’s being pushed to the margins?”

For his new film Killers of the Flower Moon, which recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, director Martin Scorsese, and his cast and crew, worked with members of the Osage tribe – the Native American community at the centre of the true story he was dramatising – to ensure his sweeping epic of a film honestly depicted their experiences. In his latest column, INSP editor Tony Inglis explains how Scorsese’s approach of instigating a co-creational model, and platforming people with lived experience of the events of the story, is not unlike how street papers approach journalism.

INSP editor Tony Inglis: “Martin Scorsese’s new film shows co-creation alongside people with lived experience can change the narrative”

As part of an ongoing campaign to highlight the importance of street paper journalism, Israel Bayer, who leads on INSP’s North America project, writes in this op-ed about the power of journalism and storytelling in affecting societal change, and how street papers are doing so whilst also supporting people to maintain a dignified income.

INSP North America director: “Street papers believe in the idea that journalism can bring people together to make the world we live in a better place”

Sarah Britz, who previously worked at one of Sweden’s largest daily newspapers, made a change twp decades into her career, becoming editor-in-chief of Gothenburg-based street paper Faktum, where she has now been for seven years. She considers it the fulfilment of a dream of the type of journalism she strived for when first becoming interested in the media industry. In this op-ed she outlines her journey, and explains why street paper journalism and the INSP News Service make an impact directly on people’s lives.

“Reading a street paper provides a new picture of what is happening in the world”: Faktum editor-in-chief on why street paper journalism matters

To mark World Press Freedom Day, Tony Inglis discusses the recent cuts at independent media organisations, how street papers are not immune from the threat, and the importance of a diverse media ecosystem.

Tagged with 'independent-media'

Big Issue North editor Kevin Gopal: “I’ve been editor through the financial crash, austerity and now the cost of living crisis. What does marginalisation mean when nearly everyone’s being pushed to the margins?”

INSP editor Tony Inglis: “Martin Scorsese’s new film shows co-creation alongside people with lived experience can change the narrative”

INSP North America director: “Street papers believe in the idea that journalism can bring people together to make the world we live in a better place”

“Reading a street paper provides a new picture of what is happening in the world”: Faktum editor-in-chief on why street paper journalism matters

INSP editor Tony Inglis: "Street papers have forged their own path in journalism. Now they need your support"